


The Sun Came Out

by batterwitch_dumb_basses



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: High School, Multi, Pre-Strex, Slow Build, set in the 50's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-05-03 15:11:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5296148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batterwitch_dumb_basses/pseuds/batterwitch_dumb_basses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Renny Mallard, a normal girl in Desert Bluffs and a student at its high school, is gunning to get a job, a good one, when she graduates. And the new guys want to help her - but what are their motives behind gaining her trust? What do they want?<br/>She doesn't know or care.<br/>Diego, however, is spinning his web quietly. Let the best of the flies come to you willingly seems to be the plan, even if his biomachine has formed an attachment to the girl they're reeling in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sun Came Out

Renny stormed out of the house to her car, hating everything except the smooth feel of the wheel of the pink Ford Thunderbird under her hands. How dare her father talk like that to her?! She, who was passing all her classes like that? Of course she wanted to get a job. She didn’t care that she wasn’t mentioned as important. She could leave and get a job elsewhere. What the hell else was she meant to do, with every other job taken – simply go ahead and be some little housewife? Teach? As _if._

It wasn’t if the social circles were closed to her. She had been a cheerleader, as she’d been automatically sorted due to appearance and sharp intelligence that made her a powerful adversary to anyone who gave her reason to be hostile. She had then rebelled, forming the Lady Wolves, almost exclusively making the members her friends. Until Daniel and Diego had joined the school. Then everything else seemed to fade, seemed to be less important to her. Diego was the son of somebody on the School Board who also owned some big company, and he listened so well when Renny had explained what she had wanted from life. He’d advised her to insist on a job, rather than backing down. Daniel, his friend who followed him around like he could not do anything else, encouraged her as well, saying that anything else would be a waste of a true flash of talent.

Her friends had changed. The Lady Wolves didn’t like Diego and Daniel, but it gave her reputation an edge to be almost part of a trinity of dangerous people.

But even so, she wished she could talk to everyone. Diego had made her see how important it was to play by the majority of the rules set out by the school – don’t talk to anyone you aren’t meant to was one of them. The guy with the light yellow sweater vests and the occasional adorable shadow-tentacles who worked at the radio station as an intern was someone she would have loved to talk to. She’d have adored it, in fact. Kevin, she thought his name was. Yet the rules that were set out required that she stay with her own social circle, and besides, Diego specifically forbade her from talking to him, oddly enough.

But instead, she had Laila, Flick and Dawn and the rest of her gang to talk to, when they would talk. They’d been backing off after she made friends with Diego and Daniel, however, even though the pair had been very friendly in their way towards her friends.

She pulled into the parking space with her name burnt into the ground – her full name, horribly – and stepped out, heels clicking as she walked towards the doors of the school, kicking them open and walking in, rolling her eyes at Daniel, who had simply walked out of the crowd and taken her arm.

“You’re not here at the usual time.” He tilted his head at her, and Renny snorted, waving a hand languidly, and trying to appear more confident than her anxious heart allowed.

“Take it up with my pa. He says I’m wasting my time wanting to apply for a job. I think he thinks I’ll end up waitressing or something. I’m going to be a big name in a company someday, Danny, I can feel it.” She wanted to get a big job, something that would put her name in a plaque on a door.

“I am sure you will. You show a great deal of potential already.” He looked to the side. “Miss Mallard, I regret to inform you that Diego is not happy with your unpunctuality.” He seemed concerned, and Renny winced.

“Ah, crap, Danny, don’t call me by my last name like that. I’ll be fine, promise. Absolutely fine. Besides, he knows that I get here every day on time if I can. My pa’s just stirring things up. Just being an idiot about the whole job thing. Says that whole shit isn’t safe anymore what with corporations buying up businesses. The hell it isn’t, he just wants me dandling a baby on my knee with one hand and makin’ apple pie with the other.” She sighed. “Besides, he ain’t got to be so mad at me. I’m too pretty.” She grinned at Daniel, who offered her the grimace that was, she hoped, his attempt at smiling.

“That might outweigh your sudden lateness. But you know how he likes his certain schedules.”

It was true. Diego preached about organisation being the backbone of a company, and Renny couldn’t get enough of listening about it. It seemed like the only people who would actually accept she would be able to get a job were Diego and Daniel, and Diego knew business. Renny didn’t want to be someone who simply interned at the radio station like her friends wanted to, or who helped sweep up at the end of the day in the hairdresser’s shop. She allowed herself a little smile at Daniel’s agreement that she was pretty, wondering if he meant it, amusement alleviating her worry the slightest bit.

She could see Diego sitting up ahead, watch glinting in the pale sunlight of the morning as he tapped at the glass face of it.

“Yeah, yeah, Dig, I’m here now, ain’t I? A moment or a few late, and you’re checking your watch.” She tapped her foot on the marble floor, trying to appear more laid back than she was in front of the boy who turned his dark glare on her, and tried not shiver at his tight little smile.

“Oh, Renny, have I ever told you how much I love that confidence of yours?” He practically purred it, and she froze in place. He sounded in a dangerous mood, and a dangerous mood made for a path of eggshells for a hopefully short time.

“Nah, can’t say you have much.” She watched Daniel walk past her to stand by Diego and felt uneasy.

“I do, Renny. See, you’ve got a beautiful bravado, an almost _stupid_ bravery.” He stood up, and Lauren wanted to back off, to run, slightly. Scratch dangerous. This mood of Diego’s was fucking terrifying.

“Punctuality, Renny, is key for any organisation. Being in sync with your surroundings, your co-workers. You cannot let yourself be the cog that breaks up the machinery, otherwise, they’ll remove you, replace you – and we would not want that. You wanted me to show you how to be a good little worker bee, didn’t you?” He placed a hand on her shoulder very gently, and she felt like flinching, but forced herself not to. She wondered whether he was thinking about having his hand around her throat.

“Remember, a company is a family. And families work hard for each other…” He paused, as if thinking about what to say. “My father, of course, works hard for the family corporation. As do I. You need to remember that it’s for your company that you strive to be better.”

She dropped her head, and Daniel started, before going back to standing by Diego when the other waved his hand.

“I understand. I’ll be better, Diego. I promise.” She looked up into his eyes, hoping he might calm down. Perhaps she would be able to work out a way to leave earlier, before her father could catch her.

Like a magic wand had been waved over him, a lovely smile washed over his face. “I knew you’d come around, Renny. You’re one of a kind. Mostly. Lateness from someone who is otherwise punctual can be overlooked, of course.”

Renny smiled back at him, the sunniest smile she could muster. “It ain’t going to be repeated.”

“Oh, I should hope not. You’re too punctual normally. But now, we must make sure that we are punctual for Philosophy and Business.”

“Ah, I…don’t have a class next.” She shrugged, and Diego grinned.

“Well, you’ve been working hard, Renny, go and play for a bit. You’re still a schoolgirl, remember?” He raised an eyebrow, while Daniel stared at her for a minute.

She shuddered. “That sounds wrong from your mouth, Diego. I’m goin’ to go and chit chat with Dawn, probably. I was working on that assignment my Eldritch Languages teacher set me and had to miss Toby’s bash over at his folks’ place.”

Diego smiled wider at that. “I’m so glad, Renny! You’re sure to get a good grade, I think.” He whispered to Daniel, who made a grabbing motion at Renny’s bag. She fished her homework out of the pink handbag, handing it over to him, and Daniel flicked his eyes over it quickly.

“It’s good,” he said finally. “Well written, and of a good standard. No mistakes, although a few definitions could be a bit clearer, but given the teacher, that is understandable. I particularly thought that the translation of ‘they will bring destruction’ was the most accurate.”

She shrugged. “It was right from the blood stones, with the prophecies. It was rather easy, I thought.” She carefully tugged it out of Daniel’s grasp, walking off towards the bleachers, looking back to see them talking to each other, and sighed. It gave her the jitters when they did that, it always did, but they were the only ones who listened to her properly, the only ones she could truly trust.

Dawn was waiting for her by the bleachers, waving slightly as they sat down, watching the marching band practicing in the distance, the cacophony somewhat comforting to Renny.

“So, anything interesting gone down at Toby’s?” she asked, and Dawn shivers.

“It was creepy. Toby wants to intern at the radio, but…he’s got a job at some family company. It’s really sudden. He was smiling and not listening to anything we were jabbering at, just smiling and chanting something that isn’t one of the registered chants. I…I was scared. Something’s happened. But I did get an internship at the radio station. Toby was….wrong. He wasn’t him.”

A chill went through Renny. “What the hell? How can he not be him?” She shifted, and Dawn shook slightly.

“It wasn’t him. He’s nothing like that. Unregistered chants are serious, Renny, you know that as well as I do, y’know? Toby ain’t like that. He told us we should be calling him Tobias. He hates that name!” Dawn began to cry a little. “He hates his full name, so why does he want to use it?”

Toby was their friend, and had dated Dawn in their first year of high school. They were still really good friends, and Toby indeed hated his full name. He was a relaxed individual who was a pretty skilled mechanic, and he’d hoped to help repair some of the signals at the station when he interned. He’d been accepted. That was why he’d thrown the party in the first place.

Renny felt cold.

“Maybe he just had a bit much to drink? Dawn, don’t cry, you know they don’t allow that in public. C’mon now.” She wiped at the girl’s tears with the edge of her sleeve, and Dawn looked up at her.

“He…He was trying to get me to interview there, and he told me it was stupid to go to the radio station when I could have a ‘real job’. It was…weird.” She shivered. “It is a real job! And it might have a high mortality rate, but it’s a really well paid job.”

“Any job is a job, Dawnie. C’mon, cheer up. I’ll treat you to a smoothie. No apples, of course.” She winked, and Dawn smiled.

“Thanks, Renny. You’re a good friend.” She sighed, and Renny helped her up.

“Have I missed out on any gossip, Dee Dee?”

“Only Clara Peters leaving school. Her parents want her to be at home, to help with the farm and everything, so she’s off as soon as she finishes her next exam.”

Renny felt an itch of annoyance. It wasn’t uncommon for that sort of thing to happen. Her own father wanted her to live at home after her exams, to just exist without doing anything. She’d been so happy about that when she was younger. But to simply laze about was wasteful, and wrong! You had to make your mark on the world or no one would remember you, no one would know your name after you died. You’d be another skeleton in the ground and no one would know you after fifty years or so. Existence was limited. You had to do what you could. You couldn’t just dawdle your way around life!

Although only Diego and Daniel agreed with her on that. Most people in this sleepy town would simply be glad to stay here until they rotted. If leaving wasn’t prohibited by the City Council, she would board a bus and get out of here. But ever since the new Mayor had been in power, the bus simply circled the town and came back to your doorstep.

Dawn was sighing still. “I wish that I had a way to reach Toby still. He doesn’t listen to anyone at the moment. Not even Jenny.” She looked over. “Speakin’ of crushes an’ all, how about you and those boys? Which one are you head over heels for?”

Renny choked for a minute. “Wh-what the hell, Dawn? I don’t have a crush on either of them! They’re just my friends, you know?” She could feel her cheeks blazing, and looked away. Dawn chuckled.

“We’re in high school, you know, but it’s in public records. Someone already knows, what with the Registry.” Dawn grinned. “So if you don’t fess up, someone else will.”

Renny flushed further. “I do not have a crush! That wouldn’t be right!” She covered her cheeks and tried to calm down. Dawn shrugged gently.

“Fine, don’t tell me. Just don’t blame me when it slips by you and you’re left being awkward, okay?” She grinned. “Wouldn’t that be something? Renny Mallard, being all ruffled like a butchered turkey.” She laughed as Renny chucked a piece of gum at her. “Hey, watch it, Renny! Joking! Joking!”

Renny huffed. “It’s...Complicated, Dawn. How about this? I’ll tell you when I’m good and ready.” She sighed. "Not that it'll come to anything."

 

“Daniel, stop staring out of the window.” Diego snapped his fingers and Daniel walked over to stand behind him, eyes still straying to the window. Diego sighed.

He had his orders, of course. Searching out the potential workers, finding the ones who would work in the company even without too much rehabilitation. And he had found a potential aide in Renny Mallard. Everyone talked of the events she organised as being fun and nothing ever went wrong. And they’d met on his and Daniel’s second day here, when she had been complaining to a friend about wanting to get a big job.

He could make all her dreams come true with a wave of his hand. He talked to her every day about business and perfection, and she was now eating out of the palm of his hand. She would do anything to be the perfect worker. She showed enough bite to deal with underlings, and was ripe to be shaped into something magnificent.

But Daniel had to go and get attached to her. Daniel was nothing more than a machine, he knew, but the trouble with cyborg-like beings was that they retained a bit of personality here and there. You could tell him what to do, and he would do it, but he would talk often in such a human way when they went home to the rented flat that his father provided for this mission. This and that, of course, just trivial things, but recently, he’d been saying things.

“Do you think Miss Mallard needs much rehabilitation? She’s already efficient.”

“Miss Mallard will be a wonderful addition to our company.”

“I wonder if Miss Mallard thinks we are good friends?”

And so on. His life seemed to revolve around fussing over Renny rather than Diego, and Diego sighed. He did not miss the over-fussing, but Daniel was such a good unit. He’d hate to have to scrap him. There had to be another way around this unfortunate complication. If only he could ask someone – but this mission was to prove himself valuable and worthy to take over the company, to expand it. He was as Xerxes, in the footsteps of his forefathers, teetering on the edge of either fame or failure; only Xerxes had not taken advantage of all those around him and what they provided, had believed too much in his own greatness by all accounts. Diego was better than that. He could use this, and twist it. He had to, otherwise his failure would mean disaster for him and death for Daniel. Yes, Daniel was a good companion, and yes, he was but a robot, but he was a good unit and waste irked Diego. Besides, if he fucked up, Father was unlikely to allow him another.

He would have to work harder. The friendship he had cemented with Renny only existed within school, and only at certain times. Girls themselves mostly vexed Diego, but he did not get too vexed with Renny. Except he had, today, snapped slightly at her in his way, and he could make sure of her loyalty with something she liked for an apology. He knew girls tended to like sweet things more, and he knew that they could be swayed by certain things. Buying her something like an ice cream would surely help along the friendship, and he might find out a thing or two that would help his campaign.

Daniel had wandered back to the window, and Diego rubbed the bridge of his nose, observing him. Daniel’s hand rested gently upon the window, and his eyes held a soft longing, a sincere emotion. And yet, instead of smiling, he looked practically melancholy. Fucking lovesick. Fantastic. His shoulders were slumped, and Diego cleared his throat.

“Daniel, would you stop mooning about? It’s unsightly.” He pointed to the chair next to him. “Sit here. Now.”

Daniel did as he was bid, looking down, and Diego huffed out another sigh. The locked office in the library had been handed over to him as he had asked for a quiet place to work and promised a substantial donation for it. Thank the Smiling God for corrupt principals. A dual advantage and disadvantage of this spot was that it overlooked the bleachers. The advantage was that he could keep a good eye on Renny in her spare time. The disadvantage was that Daniel would also be keeping an eye on her.

It was, he reminded himself, baby steps. Trust took time to form, and he would not break it before she was ensnared so deeply she could not escape.


End file.
